Sydney Dearest
by ailec
Summary: Irina wants Sydney to get out of the spygame, but you'd be surprised which spygame. AU S/S and S/V
1. Mother's Worry

Sydney Dearest ::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::  
  
Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not have the pleasure holding the ownership of the characters and ideas of Alias.  
  
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Mother's Worry~  
  
"Sydney dear, I don't want you to do this anymore." Sydney looked up from the folder in front of her.  
  
"Please mom, could be please talk about this when I get back?" Sydney stood up rolling her eyes as she put her file inside her suitcase. It was the same thing over and over for the past month.  
  
"I don't even know if you'll ever be coming back. You don't want this life Sydney. You deserve a normal life, I want you to leave the organization."  
  
"If you didn't want me to live this life, then why did you take me? You could have just left me with dad." Irina Derevko's eyes started to water. It seemed like yesterday when she left Jack Bristow and took their only daughter with her. She could barely stand leaving Jack, nevertheless Sydney. So she was selfish and took Sydney with her convinced that it was for Sydney's best. Not only recently had she realized that she could never be more wrong. Her daughter was tangled in an endless web of deceit and lies. Irina knew that if her daughter didn't get out of that web now, she would never get out just like her. She didn't want Sydney have to make the same bad decisions she had thirty years earlier.  
  
"I made a very bad decision. I didn't want to lose my only daughter. Sydney I didn't think if you would ever come into my world like this. I just wanted you there when I came home, just you and your innocent self."  
  
"Can't you see I'm not innocent anymore? I seen things that can never be erased, but Mom, you've done a great thing for me. You introduced me to Rambaldi. We are so close to finding the most powerful weapon ever imagined. Think of what we can do? We can get rid of the Alliance; we can get rid of the CIA. How many of our agents have they killed? How many of our people have they brainwashed to turn against us? Only we know the truth about the CIA. We know their motives, and soon, we'll be able to stop them." How ever did her daughter grow so passionate about the organization? It was same passion she recognized thirty years before, herself.  
  
"There are always many sides to a story Sydney. It is only until you have heard both ends, will you be able to decide." Sydney's eyes narrowed, "What do you mean? You taught me this. All I know is from you, are you saying that what you've told me has all been a lie?"  
  
Irina didn't answer, after I while she finally said, "You should be on the plane soon. Gook luck." And she left. Sydney sighed heavily and zipped up her bag. When she turned around to leave she saw a familiar face.  
  
"Quite ready yet darling? I saw your mother walking out of your room with a less than content circumstance. I hope your quarrel with your mother won't effect the mission."  
  
"Andrew, it's fine. We need to go." She gave him a weak smile and walked out to the car without another word. He soon followed and soon they were on their way. For a brief while there was what seemed like uncomfortable silence.  
  
"Did you review the mission?" Andrew asked suddenly. Sydney could only nod. "This should a piece of cake. I'm not even sure why your mother even wanted to give us this mission."  
  
"She wants me to get out, Andrew. She's finally decided that I was better off with my dad."  
  
"What?" He turned to look at her for a brief second but then turned back to steering and parked the car. Both got out and grabbed their bags.  
  
"What are you going to do? You can't leave Sydney. We need you, I need you." He quickly dropped his bag and took her in his arms. "Sydney, I love you. I wouldn't know what to do without you." He whispered. She could only smiled, nodding, with a verge of tears coming on. She put her arms around him and lightly stroked his hair, then whispered back, "I love you too." Completely happy, he quickly brushed his lips against hers. Soon their kiss was intensifying, causing Andrew to pull back. "Come.on, we have to get on that plane," he managed to say being out of breath. She nodded happily and they went aboard.  
  
Los Angeles, CIA Operations Center  
  
"Agent Vaughn, there's a debrief in ten minutes with Kendall." Agent Michel Vaughn nodded without looking up from his desk. It had been a hard week for Michel. His asset had screwed up another mission, his girlfriend was asking him questions again, and his best friend kept jumping on his back about his girlfriend. It wasn't Alice's fault. She was entitled to her suspicions, why couldn't Weiss accept that.  
  
Now, there was a debriefing to sit through. He was sure it was about the failures of his asset Carlos. He didn't understand why Kendall was even giving him missions anymore. It wasn't his fault that Carlos was an immature, egotistical pretty boy. He even wore his hair in a ponytail thinking he was the most beautiful man in the world. This of course not only reflected Carlos' reputation, but his also. All he could do was hope for was either his transfer, or Carlos'. Carlos had only been his asset for a few months, but Vaughn was sure that within the little time Carlos had lost all Vaughn's chances of being promoted for a few years.  
  
"Agent Vaughn, they're waiting for you." He shook the thoughts from his head and walked over the debriefing room.  
  
"So glad for you to join us Agent Vaughn, if you'll have a seat, we can begin. Ladies and gentlemen, I like'd you to meet Andrew David Sark. From our sources, he is known to be the right hand man of Irina Derevko. Unfortunately, that is the only thing we know about him. He has been seen numerous times with Irina and.." He pushed a button and appeared a young, beautiful woman with brown hair down to her shoulders. Vaughn could hear Carlos and a couple of other agents snicker in the corner. He shook his head in disgust. How could anyone let such an idiot become an agent?  
  
"Sydney Bristow," Kendall paused and briefly looked at Jack. He had a straight face making sure no one could see the slightest emotion. "Sydney here, as you probably have already figured out, is Agent Bristow's daughter. In just the past few years Sydney has, as we believe, gone up in the ranks. We find her on more missions with Irina and Sark. We have Intel that they will be flying the Italy this afternoon to retrieve a Rambaldi manuscript. Agent Jackson, you and Agent Ramirez will be paired up for this mission. You will meet at the museum at nine o'clock tonight. Make sure that you have clear view of all entrances. We believe that Sark and Sydney will be arriving around ten, but we're not sure, so be ready at nine thirty. Once you've caught sight of them, move in. I want them in CIA custody by tomorrow. Agent Vaughn, you'll be on comm. links, I want you packing too. Good luck agents. That's all." Everyone started shuffling out with the busy talk of the mission.  
  
"Man! This is so great, a trip to Italy and a hot babe!" Carlos said to Agent Jackson. Vaughn sighed heavily leaning back into his chair. Not only did he have to explain this to Alice, but he'd be stuck on the plane with the worlds biggest imbeciles for the next two days. 


	2. The Proposal

Sydney Dearest  
  
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Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not have the pleasure holding the ownership of the characters and ideas of Alias.  
  
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The Proposal  
  
30,000 feet over the Atlantic  
  
"Can I have some more red wine please, oh, and while your at it, can I have some more of you?" Carlos winked and showed his pearly whites. The steward gasped, took another good look at him, and turned away in disgust. "Of course, she wants me!" Carlos sat back in satisfaction with the encouragement from his partner. "Yeah man, you've got her eating out of your hand!"  
  
All Vaughn could do was shake his head. "Stewardess, can I get a pair of headphones?" He bought them and slipped them on hoping he would not hear any further of Carlos' attempts of joining the mile high club. He turned to a classical station and soon drifted slowly into slumber. He was just about to reach deep slumber when he felt a cool liquid pour down his pants. He jumped out of his seat yelling. "What the hell." he turned over to Carlos and Max finding them snickering. He looked down at his pants and found a very large red wine stain on his crotch.  
  
"Sorry sir, it just. few out of my hands." Carlos tried very hard to keep in his laughter. It didn't take Vaughn very long to figure out that they were almost completely drunk. Their faces turned bright pink and they couldn't stop laughing.  
  
"Sit down. We're going to talk when I get back. Took his bag out of the compartment and found a new pair of pants. After he had changed, he turned towards Carlos in serious manner.  
  
"Carlos, I have a proposal for you."  
  
"Sir, I don't want to marry you." He looked at Vaughn for a couple of seconds and burst out laughing. Vaughn could also hear Max in the back. He was so sick and tired of this! Without further control, he slapped Carlos right across the face.  
  
"Listen to me!" Carlos only nodded. "We need to complete this mission, don't you agree?" another nodded. "Well, you might not agree enough. I have a proposal for you, a proposition you could say. Do you remember the BMW the CIA just purchased recently?" a nodded with a smile. "Well, if you stay sober, if you don't mess this up, and we have at least one person in CIA custody by tomorrow, I'll let you use it for a weekend. A weekend where you could go anywhere you wanted, nothing to worry about. I'll even pay for the gas."  
  
"You can't do that? That's Kendall's car."  
  
Michel smiled, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a key, which lit Carlos' eyes. "No, it isn't. It's mine! For two weeks, I'm supposed to be test-driving it. All the senior officers have clearance. If you don't mess this up, I promise, I'll let you have it for the whole weekend."  
  
"And I can bring anyone I like?" Vaughn sighed, and reluctantly nodded. "But you can't crash the car. If you do, you'll have to pay for it. Agreed?" Vaughn put out his hand, and Carlos took it "Agreed."  
  
"Max, you've seen and heard everything we've said, can I count on you to be our witness?"  
  
"Yes Sir."  
  
"Good, now layoff the wine, and get some rest. We'll be there in no time. And I must warn you not the call that stewardess around here again, or the deal's off."  
  
Rome, Italy  
  
"Sydney, you seem distant. You're thinking about your mother again aren't you?" Sark asked. Sydney popped out of her trance and absently nodded. "We can't make this a successful mission if you're somewhere else." Sydney took his hand, "Do you feel my hand?" he nodded. "Then I'm here."  
  
"Now, you know what I mean. We can't screw this up."  
  
"Yes, I know. I'm here, now can we please drop the subject?" He was always like that. His number one priority would always be Rambaldi. Although Sydney wasn't much different, she still wanted to feel the she was her number one priority. She knew that he was hers, but the way he was acting, it seemed like they wouldn't be together for long.  
  
"I'm going to get a drink, would you like one?" He slowly sat up while Sydney slid off of him. "Yes please." He returned with two glasses of red wine. "Thank you." Sydney took the glass and slowly sipped. There was an awkward silence, but it was soon broken.  
  
"Sydney, I know we haven't been on good terms lately." Sydney's paused at his sudden statement. She slowly put down her glass and looked him straight in the eyes. "I realized I have left you when you need me, and I am so sorry Sydney." His expression was serious, and she knew that he meant this. "Andrew, it's really alright. Rambaldi means as much to you as it does to me. I don't blame you." She lied, but she couldn't say anything else; now that he was apologizing.  
  
"Sydney, don't lie to me." How did he know? She was really that obvious. "You don't need to tell me this. I know that we can work this out. Trust me, I'll make everything right again, like it used to be. All I need you to do is forgive me. Sydney, will you forgive me?" Sydney took him into her arms crying. "Of course Andrew." He placed a soft kiss on her lips taking her breath away.  
  
"Sydney, I lied."  
  
She pulled back shaken by his abruptness. Secrets weren't good for their relationship, for any relationship in that matter, but in their relationship it was life or death. She looked deep within in eyes, trying to see what it could be that led him to say such a thing so out of the blue. Was he cheating on her? That couldn't be, it wasn't in his nature. Could he be a double? That might be it. A thousand possibilities zipped through her mind as she waited for his explanation.  
  
"Your forgiveness isn't the only thing I need. I need you to say yes." He pauses and reaches into his pocket. He pulls out a small velvet box and revels a gorgeous diamond ring. "Will you marry me?"  
  
Her tears started flowing once again as her took the box from his hands. He gave her a moment to marvel at the ring. She already loved it, he could tell. She took it out of the box, and slipped it onto her ring finger.  
  
"Does this mean yes?" he had to ask. All she could do was nodded, and he quickly took her into his embrace. "Now you'll never leave me." He whispered. "No one can take you away from me, not your mother, not the KGB, no one." She nodded again crying harder than ever.  
  
"Please don't cry." He took her chin and gave her a tender, soft kiss. She pulled back suddenly and slapped him across the face.  
  
"Jesus Sydney! What was that for?" He held his cheek moving his jaw in circles. She looked at him with anger. "Don't you ever scare me like that again! I thought you had really lied to me. I thought you were going to tell me about another girlfriend in Russia or something. Don't you ever do that again, or I will break both of your legs, making sure that you can't cheat on me." The anger on her face turned into a playful smile.  
  
Sark chuckled. "I believe you, and I want you to know that I would never, ever cheat on you. There's just not point. I already have all the woman I want right here." He bent down for another kiss but two fingers stopped him. "No. You're not getting off with a couple or sweet words mister! So what if we're engaged? You owe me big time for almost giving me a heart attack."  
  
"Well, I have a few ways I could think of." Sydney raised her eyebrows, "really? What do you suggest?" With a smirk, Sark quickly lifted Sydney off of the couch and walked briskly into the bedroom.  
  
-----------------  
  
"Hello."  
  
"I wanted to make sure you finished decoding page 47."  
  
"Yes, we are positive."  
  
"And are you sure it's Sydney? I would like you to send a photo as soon as possible. We can't make any mistakes."  
  
"Sark, are you doubting me? When we started this partnership, I made it very clear we would never doubt one another."  
  
"I apologize Mr. Sloane. It's not about my trust in you. I just feel somewhat hesitant. I just proposed to Sydney. It would be such a hassle if we found out that she wasn't the one. I would have to get rid of her, and it wouldn't help our progress."  
  
"I see. Was she becoming distant?"  
  
"Yes. I think she was just about to dump me. You and I know that would have disrupted our entire plans."  
  
"Yes, it would have. I admire your cleverness. Now that you two are engaged, she will not question your loyalties. Good work."  
  
"She's vulnerable. Her mother has just asked her to leave the KGB. In time, I think Sydney would have left after her mother's persistences, but now she'll never leave. She'll never leave me."  
  
"Well need her to find the last Rambaldi device. How is her mother?"  
  
"In absolute mess. Guilt has finally caught up with her. She spends most of her time looking at photo albums of Sydney. She calls for Jack at night, or that's what the guards tell me. Once Sydney and I or married, I give Irina two or three years before she hands the organization over. Then we'll be able to move in. All the while, Sydney doesn't know a thing."  
  
"Perfect. Where is now? I heard you two had a mission in Italy tonight."  
  
"She's sleeping. I'd better wake her." Sark turned off the phone and walked back into the bedroom. He found Sydney under the sheets still asleep. He stared at her for a moment, thanking God that he had given him such a beautiful woman to use. Creeping closer, Sark lightly planted a kiss on top of Sydney's forehead.  
  
"Hi."  
  
"Hi. You ready to get up?" Sydney smiled, wiping the sleep from her eyes. Sark smiled and tucked a stray hair behind her ear.  
  
"Who were you talking to out there? I heard you, and I was going to get up, but somehow I fell asleep again."  
  
He paused for a split second trying to make something up. "Oh, the phone call? I was checking with our contacts. I need to make sure we had an extraction point, you know just in case of emergency."  
  
"You're right, good thinking. You should have woken me though. We might be late."  
  
"You just looked so peaceful sleeping. I didn't want to wake you. Besides, it's only six thirty, we have plenty of time. Come on, get dressed. We'll have a quick dinner and go over the mission." He pulled her hand, making her get up off of the bed. He was about to let go and walk into the bathroom, but she pulled him back with her super strength and planted a passionate kiss on his lips. They pulled back fighting for air.  
  
"Okay," Sydney said finally, "we can be professional now." Sark gave her a big grin and walked into the bathroom. 


	3. Mission Gone Wrong, or Perfectly Right?

Sydney Dearest  
  
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Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not have the pleasure holding the ownership of the characters and ideas of Alias.  
  
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Mission Gone Wrong, or Magnificently Right?  
  
Vaughn first knocked, but there was no answer. He knocked again, but there was still no answer. After losing patience, he opened the door finding a pitch-back room.  
  
He sighed. "Carlos, get up! We'll have to leave in five minutes. I want Max up too!" Vaughn shouted. He found the light switch and turned the lights on. He found Carlos and Max sprawled on the two beds with their suits still on. They opened their eyes slowly, groaning at the sudden light.  
  
"What do you want now Vaughn?" Max mumbled, starting to close his eyes once again. Completely outraged at the agents' unprofessionalism, Vaughn couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed Max's collar and lifted him forcefully from the bed.  
  
"I am sick and tired of your lack of your respect for me!" Vaughn's eyes were flared, veins popping from his neck. "Agents aren't supposed to be drinking on missions. That way they don't get hangovers two hours before the extraction. I want you two out of bed and ready in five minutes! I am this close," Vaughn raised his hand extending his index and thumb. "to getting you two fired." Carlos and Max were speechless watching Vaughn with the utmost fear.  
  
When Vaughn had felt like they had gotten the message, he let max drop onto the bed. The started of him for a while, like a deer caught in headlights. "Well? Hurry up!" They woke out of the daze and clumsily stumbled off of the beds to their bags. They were dressed and ready in six minutes to Vaughn's satisfaction. Once ready, he made sure that they were fully away for the night's extraction. They nodded, with sober faces. Vaughn couldn't help up smile. They arrived in front of the museum at exactly nine. There was nothing for the first half hour. All Vaughn could do was hope that Carlos wouldn't screw this up. Maybe this could be it, if he could take either Sark or Sydney tonight, he might get a promotion when he came back to LA. Then he wouldn't have to deal with Carlos anymore. He waited patiently hoping something wonderful happen, fixing his messed up life.  
  
-----  
  
"Sydney, you are clear for exactly three minutes. Remember the laser censors. I will be at the extraction point with the helicopter to pick you up."  
  
"Okay." She dropped in from the ceiling carefully landing soundlessly on her feet. Clearly, across the room she saw the Rambaldi manuscript encased in a glass box. "I've caught sight of the manuscript. I'm going radio silent." She looked at her watch- 5:45. "I'll see you at extraction point in two and a half minutes."  
  
"Good luck."  
  
Sydney heard the line cut. It was time to turn into Sydney super spy. Quickly scanning the room, she found a small black box. She quickly ran over and popped the side panel, flipping a switch. In a split second dozens of red lasers appeared throughout the room. Some of them close to the floor, others reaching her shoulders. She slowly inhaled and took the first step into the maze of lasers. One by one, Sydney slowly stepped over each laser and dodged another above her head. Soon she quickened her pace making it across the room. When she finally reached the manuscript she was out of breath and starting to sweat. She checked her stopwatch- 3:22. She was just on time. Quickly, she cut a hole big enough to cut the manuscript out. This is too easy. Little did Sydney know that she was right. Behind the manuscript's stand was a tiny back object blinking.  
  
"Showtime." Vaughn said into his earpiece. " The manuscript has been moved. Mountaineer hurry and get to the Rambaldi exhibit. I'll call the guards for backup."  
  
"Copy that Boy Scout. We're moving in." Inside the museum Carlos and Max silently and swiftly made it through to the Rambaldi exhibit. They found Sydney half way through the lasers. Vaughn saw Sydney through the agent's cameras, sighing in relief. I'm going to get that promotion after all! He watched intently as the agents grew closer.  
  
"Freeze!!" their armed guns pointed straight at Sydney's head. She froze, cursing under her breath. "Put your hands up!" The idiots! She thought. She raised her hand in a swift motion setting off the alarm. The sudden sound and flashing lights made the agents lose focus. They shot aimlessly at Sydney who at already slipped behind a protective column.  
  
"Sark! I've been made!" she said hushed and hurried.  
  
"How many?" Sydney looked from behind the column, but only saw a lot of bullets coming at her.  
  
"I can't tell. I saw two, but I think they called for backup." She could hear Sark cursing quietly.  
  
"I'm going in to get you. Stay where you are." She quickly took out a small aluminum ball and threw it across the floor. A could of gas burst from the small object, making the entire room foggy. The bullets stopped.  
  
Vaughn could see the camera was slowly losing sight of the column hiding Sydney. Jeez, they're going to mess this up. Just as he was watching the screen, Sydney popped up in front of Carlos. His reflexes were too slow, and Sydney took him out with a kick. The screen went blank. Where the hell are the guards? Vaughn had called them at least five minutes ago, and they were only across the hall. Vaughn decided to matters into his own hands. He grabbed a tranquilizer and ran out of the van, he didn't even have time to see Sydney take out Max.  
  
He ran to the exhibit to find the gas had slightly cleared.  
  
"Stop! Put the manuscript down." He spotted her fifty feet away picking up the manuscript. She smiled and took the manuscript and put it into her sweater.  
  
"What are you going to do? Shoot at me aimlessly, then wait for me to take you out with a kick?" She stepped closer.  
  
Vaughn tightened his grip. "Don't move any closer! Drop the manuscript and I won't be forced to shoot." She didn't listen. She stepped closer and closer until she was almost arm's length from Vaughn. He held his ground, almost shaking. He had never done this before. He was a desk agent, no fully trained for the field. She could sense his trembling and kicked the gun from his hands. He lost the gun, but blocked her next kick, attempting the counter attack. His ability to fight surprised her, allowing him the kick her across the room. He picked up the gun with a new confidence and pointed at her. He wouldn't be afraid to pull the trigger this time.  
  
With the look of defeat, Sydney pulled out the manuscript. She slowly stood up and raised her hands up into the air.  
  
"Drop the manuscript." Vaughn ordered. Without another word, Sydney threw the manuscript high into the air, causing Vaughn to look up. With a flash, she pulled a tiny gun from behind and shot at Vaughn. Somehow, through the complete shock, Vaughn fired at the now fleeting Sydney, hitting her in the arm. It took a few second for the tranquilizer to kick in.  
  
All the while Sark had just turned the corner to see Sydney collapse on the floor.  
  
"Freeze!" Vaughn yelled. Sark took a quick look at Vaughn and started running for the exit. Vaughn fired, but missed. A moment later he dropped his gun and looked at his left arm. The blood had soaked the entire sleeve. He put hand protectively over the wound and walked over to Sydney. She was out cold. He then checked on Carlos and Max, they too were out cold.  
  
"Boy Scout requesting back up. We have two unconscious agents."  
  
"Copy Boy Scout, back up will be there in five minutes." 


	4. Caged

Sydney Dearest  
  
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Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not have the pleasure holding the ownership of the characters and ideas of Alias.  
  
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Caged  
  
"What is your full name?"  
  
"Sydney Anne Bristow." Sydney replied distantly. She tired to recollect how exactly she had gotten here, into a small dark room with a fat balding man asking her questions that he probably already knew. There wasn't any furniture, beside the two chairs that Sydney and the man had occupied. They weren't even close to being comfortable, which Sydney thought was intended. There were also two guards standing behind the fat man carrying gun holsters.  
  
"Your date of birth?"  
  
"Um."  
  
"Miss Bristow. Do I need to repeat myself?" She was still groggy from the tranquillizer. How long she had been out, she didn't know. She woke in a cot in a glass cell. Just a few minutes later the two guards came to her cell and took her to this room.  
  
"April 14, 1975."  
  
"The name of your mother?"  
  
"Irina Derevko."  
  
"Father's name?"  
  
"I'm sure you already know. In fact, I'm sure that my father has told you all of the questions you're asking now. So can you please stop wasting my time?"  
  
The man sighed heavily and took off his glasses. He wiped them with his shirt and put them back on. "Miss Bristow, I don't think you'll have anything better to do for a long time. Please just answer the questions. Now, I will ask you again, what is your father's name?"  
  
"Jack Bristow." Sydney gave up. She couldn't do anything else. They wouldn't torture her; this was the CIA wasn't it? They never had fun with their prisoners, all because of those countless laws. Foolish Americans. There was a great example of their foolishness right in front of her. She didn't know why he had to go so slow, almost annunciating every single question he was asking her. Just because she lived in Russia most of her life, didn't mean she was completely unaware of the English language. Her mother had always said that she never caught the Russian accent. It was probably due to the constant trips and missions. She never really had a home, just several houses scattered around the world.  
  
"Where were you born?"  
  
"LA."  
  
"Los Angeles, California?" No shit.  
  
"Yes." Sydney looked around the room, trying to find something else to occupy her time. Then she noticed for the first time that there was a mirror on the other side of the room. It had been so dark she had not noticed. They're probably watching me, making sure I'm a good little girl. She knew that she wouldn't be about to fight them. She wouldn't be able to get out, at least not by herself. Or maybe she could.  
  
Vaughn looked from the window studying Sydney intensely. What flowed through a mind of a terrorist? He shifted his left arm uncomfortable in it's sling. Soon Weiss came in handing him a file.  
  
"The full report from the captain, apparently the guards had been drinking. Amazing how much seriousness the Italians give American issues nowadays."  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"Hey, so that's Bristow's daughter?" Weiss asked, checking her out. Vaughn nodded. "I hate to say it, but Carlos is right, she has a great body! I think I can see so muscles from here. They don't look too big. Just big enough, you know not like some women where they almost look like men and-"  
  
Vaughn grimaced, causing wrinkles on his forehead. "Get serious, that woman has ended countless lives. She's the daughter of the most notorious terrorist in the world, and all you are thinking is whether she looks good in a pair of jeans?"  
  
"I was thinking of something more on the lines of a bikini, but jeans are good too."  
  
"You are absolutely hopeless. Get out of here!"  
  
"Alright, alright. I just wanted to give the file."  
  
"Okay." Just as Vaughn reviewed the file and turned around. He heard a loud gun shot and breaking of the two-sided mirror. He instantly ducked and headed for the corner, pulling out his gun. A few moments later Sydney jumped through the window.  
  
"Freeze." He stood up not even blinking.  
  
"Don't you remember the last time you said that?" She said pointing the gun straight at his head. "Look what happened." She referred to his arm.  
  
"The last time I told you to freeze, I shot you in the arm with a tranquillizer. Now with a real gun, you could image what could happen." Vaughn said stern and strong. He wouldn't be afraid this time. He was ready.  
  
"I'm going to get the hell out of here, that's what's going to happen." Sydney quickly spat.  
  
"I don't think so," Vaughn replied shaking his head. "There are at least a hundred trained agents in this building alone. Not including the ones stationed outside. If you even get past me, you'll never even see a window. In fact, I think agents are coming right now, I can hear their foots steps." Sydney took a moment to listen. He was right.  
  
"Well, at least I'll have you to hold hostage." She quickly fired and nicked him in the leg. Making him drop out of his readied position, she grabbed him and held the gun to his head. "You'll get me out of here." He was about the drag him out the door when he hollered, "Wait, wait. This won't solve anything. The CIA eventually gets you again, either here, or five blocks away. It's a CIA operations base we have to be prepared. If you just stop right now, and surrender, we won't be forced to put you in maximum security prison on a remote island."  
  
"It's too late, I'm using you. Don't get too scared; I'll kill quickly, don't worry."  
  
"I'm not scared. You won't kill me."  
  
"And what makes you think I won't kill you right now?"  
  
"I have an instinct." Just as he said, the agents burst into the room, and half a dozen guns pointed at Sydney.  
  
"I'm not trying to play you. Just put the gun down, and I'll make sure you aren't shipped off to a remote island." Vaughn whispered. Sydney looked around at the agents ready to fire.  
  
"Fine" and she dropped the gun. Vaughn sighed in relief and a couple of agent cuffed her and took her away. Just then he once again realized that he was nicked in the leg. Weiss came in and helped him to the medic. As Vaughn walked out of the room, he noticed Agent Watson, the interrogator, wake from unconsciousness. Good she didn't kill anyone. Once was cleaned up, he was asked to meet with Kendall.  
  
"Don't let that happen again."  
  
"I don't have the capability to stop something like that to happen sir. She's clearly a dangerous woman. I don't know why we are dealing with this."  
  
"She has some valuable Intel, and I want to make sure that we get it before we lose her. I am reassigning you to head Sydney Bristow's surveillance." Yes, yes, yes! Vaughn thought. "I want to know where she's been for the past twenty years with her mother. Read her file again. I want to know EVERYTHING we can get. I'm sure whatever Intel she has to provide with help us even more. You do this write Michel, and I will assure you a promotion."  
  
"Yes sir. How will I get the Intel is she is incorporative?"  
  
"We at the CIA don't like the use certain methods, but this is important, I'm willing to look over a couple of things."  
  
Vaughn nodded. This must be serious, never in all of history had Vaughn heard of Kendall bending the rules, for anyone.  
  
"Oh, but take a few days off, you look like shit." Kendall said, not being sarcastic whatsoever. 


	5. Understanding

Sydney Dearest  
  
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Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not have the pleasure holding the ownership of the characters and ideas of Alias.  
  
I apologize for all the errors in the past chapters. I'm doing my best to correct them all. I had just recently realized that there where so many and wasn't able to revise them all, again, sorry for the inconvenience.  
  
::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::  
  
Understanding  
  
"We have a problem."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"We lost Sydney during the extraction of the manuscript."  
  
"By who?"  
  
"I don't know. I'm not even sure if she's alive. It could be KGB, Triad, or even the CIA, I have no idea."  
  
"Where are you now?"  
  
"I'm back with Derevko. She's absolutely gone mad. I'm sure this wasn't her doing. She wouldn't be spending most her time crying if she had staged this. Mr. Sloane, what do you we do? This could ruin all our plans. She could be dead for all we know."  
  
"There could be a slight chance, but it's not very big. I know Rambaldi and I know that he wouldn't make mistakes in his prophecies. But you're right; this is a major problem. Are you sure you have no clue who took her? Did you get to see any of them? Where there a lot?"  
  
"Um. I saw only a glimpse of a man. About six foot, dirty blond hair. I'm not sure if he was an American. It could be the CIA, but I couldn't be sure. He was the only person I saw before I had to run."  
  
"Try and get a description, and send it to me. I'll give it to all our assets."  
  
"Alright. In the mean time, what should I do?"  
  
"Nothing. First we must find Sydney. We won't be able to get any progress if we know that she's not longer alive. Stay with Derevko and watch her, maybe she'll find something. I also don't want Derevko doesn't suspect anything from you. This is a bump in the road, but we have to stay on track. I'll contact you once we've found something." Sark heard the line cut.  
  
---------  
  
Vaughn woke to the loud buzzing of the alarm. He reached up instinctively with his left arm to turn it off but winced in pain. He reached over with his right arm and turned it off. Just as he was about to get out of bed he felt a soft arm wrap itself around his waist.  
  
"Why do you have to go to work today?" mumbled a voice from the pillow beside him.  
  
"Alice, it's been a week. I'm going to have to go back to work eventually." Vaughn took her arm off of his him and walked into the bathroom.  
  
"But you're not even well yet! I saw your face just now. Your arm isn't well yet. Besides, you've just barely stopped limping. Why can't we just take one day? Just us. We'll go for a drive in that BMW."  
  
"Alice," Vaughn came of the bathroom with shaving cream on his face. "If I don't come back soon, the guys will think I'm a little wimp. A bullet to the arm and a little scratch on the leg and I'm out for a week and a half? I've seen guys come in the next day with a broken leg still determined to work."  
  
Alice stuck her tongue out, "Well, I'm sure those guys don't have a great girlfriend to take care of you like me." She crawled over to Vaughn and wrapped her arms around him. "Please, please?" she gave him little kissed up and down his chin.  
  
"Alice! You're making a mess!" Alice giggled quickly grabbing a towel from the bathroom.  
  
"You go dress and I'll make breakfast." With another kiss on the nose, she skipped merrily out into the kitchen. Vaughn shook his head watching her disappear. She had not left his house for almost five days, claiming that he needed her attention. Quite frankly he was glad to go back to work, that way he wouldn't have to hear the jibber jabber of her friends and their love lives every five minutes.  
  
Once he was dressed, Vaughn put his arm into the sling the doctor had given him and checked his leg again. It wasn't that bad, there were only a few stitches and they were healing nicely. He walked into the kitchen to smell brewing coffee.  
  
"Would you like sunny side up or scrambled today?" Alice said cheerfully. Vaughn had to admit, she made great eggs, but after five days it was kind of tiring.  
  
"Um. I don't have much of an appetite today. I'll just get the coffee and a bagel to go." He picked up the newspaper trying to avoid Alice's angry expression.  
  
"If you don't eat, you won't have enough energy to work."  
  
"I'll be alright. Don't worry, I'm a big boy."  
  
"I know, I'm going to get dressed, I have an early appointment today."  
  
"Good luck." She went over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek to which he didn't react. She quickly walked into the bedroom where Vaughn could hear her changing and packing her things. A moment later the door opened.  
  
"I love you Michael. I'll see you tonight."  
  
"I love you too." Vaughn said distantly from his newspaper. Once he was finished, he looked at his watch, picked up his watch and walked out the door.  
  
He arrived at the CIA operations center twenty minutes later. Parking in his usual parking space he strode in through the front doors realizing how he missed his work. It was true that here acquired his wrinkles on his forehead in this place, but he wouldn't trade his duty to his country for the world.  
  
"Nice to see you back Agent Vaughn," Carlos greeted. He wore a slick smile with a hint of fraud. Boy, did Vaughn hate this man. Everything was going perfect until he showed up and Vaughn realized why he had taken such a long break.  
  
"How have you been doing, Carlos?" Vaughn asked, looking impatiently at his watch.  
  
"Everything's fine. We have the prisoner secure."  
  
"Good."  
  
"I also know that you've been reassigned to head the surveillance of Sydney Bristow?"  
  
"Yes, Kendall will be giving you a new handler."  
  
"Well, it's been nice working with you." Carlos smiled again and offered his hand. Vaughn took it nodding his head.  
  
Silence. Vaughn looked at his watch again. "So, is there anything else?"  
  
"Oh, I apologize, you must have a debrief."  
  
"Yes, I should be going." Vaughn turned to leave. "Oh, wait Agent Vaughn. There's one thing I forgot to ask you?"  
  
Vaughn sighed, "Yes?"  
  
"I was wondering about your agreement. Remember? We did successfully take a suspect into custody. Don't you have a pair of keys to give?" His face lit up with joy.  
  
"You let her knock you unconscious." Vaughn said plainly.  
  
"That doesn't matter, you told me you've give me the BMW if we took her into CIA custody. We did."  
  
"You were knocked out! I had to come and take her myself, me, a desk trained agent! I wouldn't have gotten shot if you two imbeciles knew how to do your jobs!" Vaughn was at the brink of tearing off his sling and throwing it at Carlos.  
  
"So does this mean I'll get it this week or the next?"  
  
"Jesus!" Cool down Vaughn, it's all right. If you give it to him, he'll go away, and you won't ever have to talk to him again. Just don't do anything that would get you fired. "You can have it one day! Tomorrow! Now, will you please leave me alone?"  
  
Vaughn turned around and briskly walked into Kendall's office.  
  
"Nice to see you well Agent Vaughn," he said without looking from his desk. Vaughn nodded.  
  
"Through the past week we've sent different agents in to receive Intel from Miss Bristow. She hasn't cooperated with any of them. I have reason to believe that she is only willing to talk to you."  
  
"How did you find out that sir?"  
  
"She told Agent Weiss three days ago."  
  
"If you had know, why didn't you call me in?"  
  
Kendall stood up from his desk. "Although her Intel will be very crucial to bringing down the Alliance, it's not absolutely or immediately needed at the moment. Go to her now and see what you can get." He tossed a folder from his desk. "Those are the questions we want her to answer."  
  
"Yes sir." Vaughn walked out of his office and headed towards Sydney's cell. He was carefully studying the folder's contents when he accidentally bumped into Weiss.  
  
"Wow, watch where you're going man."  
  
"Sorry Eric. I just came from Kendall he told me about what Sydney told you."  
  
"Yeah. She's really weird. I thought she would be pretty mad and angry when I got to her, but she was calm and actually somewhat nice. Anyways, she said she wanted to talk to you."  
  
"Maybe I'll be able to get something out of her."  
  
"Yeah, just turn on the Frenchman charm of yours!" Vaughn playfully slapped him on the back. "I'm not going to romance the prisoner."  
  
"Hey, she's hot! Even hotter than that ice-bitch of ours."  
  
Vaughn's eyebrows rose, "She isn't a bitch. She's always nice, kind, and thoughtful."  
  
"Yeah," Weiss chuckled. "To you. When you leave the room she turns into an attack dog. You have to get rid of her man, she's not the one for you."  
  
"Of course she is. I love her."  
  
"Yeah, only because you've been together for three years. A common interest in Italian food and sex isn't true love. You have to stop hiding behind her."  
  
"And this is love advice coming from a person that can't even keep a girl for three weeks?"  
  
"Shut up! Anyways, I have to do some paperwork, good luck with Sydney."  
  
"Okay." Weiss left and Vaughn once again headed to Sydney's cell. Once at the entrance, he flashed his badge at the guard, and he pushed a button the raise the gate. He walked in finding her sitting on the floor, Indian style. He studied her a while, wondering what thoughts went through a mind like hers.  
  
"So, you're back. Did you have a nice break?" She asked suddenly. He was a little taken back by her knowledge of his break but eventually replied.  
  
"Very well, thank you." Did he just thank her? "I heard you met a few agents while I was gone."  
  
"Yes, quite I few I must say. I even got to met your friend a couple of days ago, Agent Weiss."  
  
"Yes, I was informed. How did you know he was my friend?"  
  
"He was the first one to come and help you when I shot you the second time." She turned around to straight into his emerald eyes. "He also told me when I met with him. Eric is very nice, I could understand why you two are very good friends." Jeez, Vaughn thought did Eric tell her that much?  
  
"I'm probably scaring you right know. I apologize. I've never gone too long without some type of company. By the third of fourth day, I had to talk to somebody, even if it meant my captors."  
  
"Do you know why we took you into custody?"  
  
"It's obvious, I know something you want to know. That's why I've agreed to only talk to you."  
  
"I don't quite follow." Vaughn opened the folder preparing to ask her the questions.  
  
"We had an understanding, you and I"  
  
"What?  
  
"An understanding. I know that what ever I need, you'll be able to give it to me." Vaughn was speechless.  
  
"How do you know I'll give you anything?" Vaughn said after a while. He closed his folder and looked at Sydney trying to figure out what exactly she was trying to say. Was she trying to trick him in any way?  
  
"Because I'll give you what you want. I can see you are different Agent Vaughn; you have personal reasons for your duty to this country. Which also makes you trustworthy, a trait that I too have, and greatly admire in others. That's why I'll only work with you, so I know that you'll be truthful."  
  
"Okay." Vaughn said, somewhat confused. "Let's get started." He lifted up a picture of a man and showed it to Sydney. "Do you know who this is?"  
  
"Do you know where my engagement ring it?" Vaughn paused, wondering where the question had come from, but then he understood. They had an "understanding".  
  
"I'll see what I can do." She nodded, "Agreed."  
  
"Okay, now, do you know who this is?"  
  
"Arvin Slone." 


	6. Baseball Teams and BMWs

Sydney Dearest  
  
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Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not have the pleasure holding the ownership of the characters and ideas of Alias.  
  
I apologize for all the errors in the past chapters. I'm doing my best to correct them all. I had just recently realized that there where so many and wasn't able to revise them all, again, sorry for the inconvenience.  
  
::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::  
  
Baseball Teams and BMWs  
  
"How long has Randle been the head of SD-1?" Vaughn looked up from his folder and looked to see Sydney looking off into a distance obviously in deep thought.  
  
"I'm not quite sure. But.wait. I remember now. My mother threw I banquet for my twenty-first birthday. All of her important friends where there, including Randle. I remember, after he gave me happy birthday wishes, he and my mother started talking about his new position with the Alliance. I would suppose that that was when he took control. That should be at least six years."  
  
"Good," he said facing the folder. He quickly scribbled her words down and closed his folder. "This will certainly be helpful. His wife just turned herself in a couple of days ago and this Intel will help us confirm her story. Thanks."  
  
"You're welcome." She smiled at him. He returned the favor with a smile of his own and turned to leave.  
  
"Wait," she said suddenly. He immediately turned around "Is there something wrong?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Is there something you wanted?"  
  
"Could you stay?"  
  
Her request took him by surprise. "What?" he asked stupidly.  
  
"I want you to stay." She said in almost a whisper. Her expression told him that she felt somewhat embarrassed.  
  
"I'm sorry, I don't really understand what you're asking for." He had to hear her say it, he needed to make sure he knew what she was asking him.  
  
"I know it's strange, but when I was talking about my birthday, I felt like we were actually having a real conversation. I haven't had a real conversation in four months. I need to talk to someone for more than five minutes every week. I think I'm going to go crazy at this rate."  
  
"I'm sorry you feel that way. If you really want, we could talk for a little while longer, however I have a meeting in on hour."  
  
"Thank you." Her face lit up as Vaughn turned around to get back into his seat. She slid herself closer to the glass waiting for him the initiate the conversation.  
  
"Sure." He sat down and put his hands in his lap. "So, what do you want to talk about?"  
  
Sydney smiled again in delight. "I don't care anything. I wouldn't mind. If there's anything you need to get off your back, you could tell me. Maybe friendship problems, you love life, or just anything from the outside world." Wow, after listening to herself, she realized how desperate she was to talk to someone. Here, she had only seen guy two hours over the past four months and she was asking about his personal problems.  
  
Vaughn cringed at her suggestions. Although they had developed a friendly relationship over the past several months, he wasn't really ready to talk about Alice with Sydney.  
  
"Err.how about some current events? They cloned a baby just recently. I'm quite amazed how smart some people are nowadays. I'm not sure why someone would want to clone themselves however."  
  
"Really?" Sydney asked sounding genuinely intrigued. "By who?"  
  
"I'm not totally sure. I believe he is Italian though."  
  
"Oh, that must be Fredrick then. I know he was going to do it one of these days. Last time we visited him, they were fertilizing the embryo."  
  
Her last statement had immediately sparked Vaughn's curiosity. "Wait, you know him?"  
  
"Yeah, he is one of my mother's closest friends."  
  
This made Vaughn pause for a moment. This was so weird. Her friends were completely bizarre. Were there any good people that this woman knew? As Vaughn trying to sort out all the new ideas presented to him, Sydney realized how strange it must have sounded. Could she be making this any worst? First she asks him to stay, to do a nice deed to an enemy to his country, and now she was talking about a man that has the capability to clone and human corresponding with wanted criminals.  
  
"So, do you follow any sports?" Sydney asked trying desperately to change the subject. If she scared him off she'll never be able to talk to anyone. She knew her question had worked when he immediately perked up. She knew that sports would take any man away from other thoughts, well except sex but she couldn't talk about that, so sports was the next best thing.  
  
"I watch a lot of hockey."  
  
"Interesting, do you have a particular team you like to watch?"  
  
"The LA Kings. I've always been a fan."  
  
"I'm sorry are they popular? I've never heard of them. I don't usually watch hockey that much."  
  
"What!? You haven't even heard of them?" Vaughn asked. Sydney felt herself almost about the burst with laughter. His folder had fallen and long ago forgotten. His face was within inches of the glass as he looked at Sydney waiting impatiently for her to answer. He looked as if Sydney was from another planet.  
  
"However," Sydney stared slowly unsure of his reaction. "I do often watch American baseball." His second favorite sport to watch!  
  
"Which team?" he asked eccentrically.  
  
"I grew up with the Yankees." His face broke out in mock disappointment and he shook his head trying not to laugh.  
  
"What?" Sydney smiled. She knew talk of sports would lighten things up, thank God for the stereotype male.  
  
"The Yankees? Why the Yankees?"  
  
"I don't know, I've just always had a certain fondness towards them, why? What's your favorite team?"  
  
"The Mets all the way!" Sydney couldn't hold it in any longer. She burst into laughter as she saw the pride in his eyes.  
  
"What's so funny? The Mets are a great team!" Vaughn asked.  
  
"You sound like a twelve year old boy talking about is favorite role models. Don't you think there are more important things to get excited about? I mean, what about your wife? Does she care about the Mets as much as you do?"  
  
"What makes you think I have a wife?" Opps, Sydney did it again. How was she able to make everything so awkward more than it already is?  
  
"I um, just assumed."  
  
"Do I look married?"  
  
"Not particularly. I just find most CIA agents married no matter what their age."  
  
"Well, unfortunately I haven't found the right lady. But I know I'm going to make sure that she knows who the Kings are!" They both laughed.  
  
Sydney took this chance to change the subject. "So who's your favorite player?" Vaughn answered joyfully forgetting Sydney's prior statement. They soon broke out in a playful debate about which baseball team was better until Vaughn looked at his watched and noticed it was time for his meeting.  
  
"I'm sorry, my meeting starts pretty soon and I can't be late."  
  
"I enjoyed our conversation," Sydney said sweetly. "You don't know how much I needed to talk to someone." She had definitely enjoyed the meaningless conversation. It was different back at home where she was constantly planning for her missions. Even when she had time off, Sark always talked about Rambaldi or the organization; everything was business to him. Her mother was too old and too Russian to enjoy the lazy American past times introduced to her in the short time she lived in LA. However Sydney was always American no matter where she lived throughout the years.  
  
"I enjoyed it too," he replied. "Um, I should go now." He smiled at her one last time, picked up his folder, and left.  
  
Debriefing Room ½ hour later  
  
"Upon receiving the Intel, we believe that there might be a Rambaldi artifact hidden within the building," said Kendall. A large concrete building popped up on the screen followed by various snap shots of the same building from different angels. "We have yet to send in a team due to our lack of knowledge. Agent Vaughn, your job is the ask Miss Bristow for any further information. Meanwhile Agents Ramirez and Jackson will fly to Bangladesh with SD-6 tonight. Their mission has also led us to believe that Sloane is after this artifact as well. Hopefully our agents will acquire the Intel and we'll be one step ahead of Sloane. Agent Ramirez, Agent Jackson, good luck. Dismissed."  
  
After making all of his notes, Vaughn closed his folder and put all of his stuff away. As he stood up to leave he found someone blocking his way. He looked up to see Carlos with his usually smirk on his face.  
  
"Excuse me." He didn't really want to deal with Carlos right now. Hopefully he could get away quickly.  
  
"Agent Vaughn, I believe you owe me a set of keys."  
  
"Please Agent Ramirez, I've already told you. I'll let you use the car when it's given back to me."  
  
"Don't give me that crap. I know you have it. You said it yourself; you'd have it for two weeks. That was almost four months ago. You promised me a full day!"  
  
" Another agent needed it that week. When it came time for me to get it back, Agent Marshall, your new handler, I believe, asked if I was willing to give it up until next month. Since he is my superior and yours, I was more than happy to oblige. If you really want the car, I could go to Agent Marshall and ask him. I'm just not one hundred percent sure how he would react. Would you like me to, Agent Ramirez?"  
  
"Um.n-n-no need." It was priceless. As soon as Vaughn mentioned his new handler, Carlos' face slumped into a huge frown. There were rumors that Marshall was the worst handler to get. He was old, stubborn, and quick tempered especially when his assets would disobey him. Many of the agents had felt sorry for Carlos but Vaughn thought it was more than appropriate. Carlos deserved what was coming to him a long time ago.  
  
"Are you positively sure? I could call him and interrupt his vacation. I'm sure he's more than happy to take the calls."  
  
"Oh, there's really no need."  
  
"If it isn't too much trouble, you'll get the car next month."  
  
"It's. it's fine. I'm sorry for bothering you Agent Vaughn. I just wanted to clear up the issue," Carlos said looking at his feet. He slid to the side making sure not to block Vaughn's way. "I should be getting ready for my flight." And without any further word Carlos almost darted out the door. Vaughn couldn't but help to laugh. He walked out to his desk and sat down reviewing all the information Sydney had given him before.  
  
"Hey man. You better brace yourself. I hear Jack Bristow is looking for you."  
  
"What? I thought he was on assignment in Norway."  
  
"He just came back. I'd run out of here if I were you. Remember the last time Jack was looking for a senior desk agent? Remember what happened to Jacobs?"  
  
"I wouldn't get transferred to Langley, would I? I haven't done anything wrong. I haven't breached any protocols, have I?"  
  
"You know they don't need a good reason. They do this all the time, and they always make Jack do it. Wait, have you been stealing Kendall's parking space again?"  
  
"Very funny."  
  
"Agent Vaughn, may I have a word with you?" Vaughn turned around to see Jack Bristow's tall frame and cold expression. 


	7. A Father's Visit

Sydney Dearest  
  
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Disclaimer: Unfortunately I do not have the pleasure holding the ownership of the characters and ideas of Alias. I don't even own Carlos; I got him from the movie I SPY.  
  
Author's Note: I know it's been a long time and I'm sorry. Well, this chapter was really hard for me to write, because I wasn't really sure how Jack should act, hope you like it..  
  
Oh yes, the last time I updated, some of you said (well actually one person, but it was still a very important comment. thanks!) anyways someone said that some of the characters were out of character. I guess your right, but I kind of did it on purpose. Irina, she has to act different, she actually has your daughter. I'm probably going to make her cold and mean later, since she thinks Sydney's dead. Sark is all nice and soft because he's trying to seduce Sydney. In real life he's just as mean as he is on the show. You'll see later. Vaughn, Weiss, and the others are mainly the same. So tell me what you think, I'd really really appreciate it.  
  
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A Father's Visit  
  
"Agent Vaughn, may I have a word with you?" Vaughn turned around to see Jack Bristow's tall frame and cold expression.  
  
"Of course, y-y-yes sir," stuttered Vaughn. He briefly turned around to find Eric, but found no one. 'What a great friend he is.'  
  
"If we could talk in my office, I think that would be the best," Jack said walking to his office. Vaughn quickly followed praying for a good outcome. 'Please, please, not Langley. Damn Carlos, I knew he would do this to me!'  
  
"Please Agent Vaughn, sit down." Jack offered Vaughn and chair and took his own. "Now, I've read all of the reports you've written for Agent Ramirez, I must say, even though the missions weren't successful, I could see that you are very careful. Especially when it comes to your agents."  
  
'This is different? Was he using a new approach, or does he always compliment you just before telling you that you've been transferred? Come one Vaughn you should be listening, he's giving you praise.'  
  
Although Vaughn heard the compliments they didn't have the same affect. Jack's voice was cold and harsh. Vaughn assumed that he probably didn't even have to try to be this cold. It came naturally. He didn't keep eye contact with Vaughn staring mostly at a file set in his lap. Vaughn looked straight ahead wondering what made a man stone cold like that.  
  
"...lets just say I've heard many good things about you." Finally when he could truly compute the words Vaughn asked in surprise. "What? You have?"  
  
"Yes, that's probably why Kendall pointed you in charge of Sydney's surveillance. You don't mind if I call her Sydney?" Vaughn shook his head. "Good, during the time of Sydney's extraction I was busy with another mission, I've just come back, and I wanted to make sure that you've taken every precaution."  
  
"Sir, of course." Vaughn assured.  
  
"We don't know what her plan is Agent Vaughn. Irina Derevko is a very smart woman, and I have no doubt that Sydney has turned out to be a reflection of her mother. Even if Sydney was half as cunning, clever, and seductive as her mother the CIA is in deep trouble." Vaughn gulped. "I want to make sure my daughter is let out as little as possible. Any food, books, or even clothes should be thoroughly inspected before she gets it."  
  
"Yes sir, we are doing that now. We have two guards watching her throughout the day, and at least half a dozen cameras on her."  
  
"Do you let her out?"  
  
"Yes, two times a day, fifteen minutes each time. We take her to the roof where a dozen armed guards watch her."  
  
"Very good, may I see her file?" Vaughn handed it over to the older man. He opened it, skimming it quickly.  
  
"Very good Agent Vaughn, very efficient." Jack mumbled flipping through the pages. Vaughn just nodded exhaling softly. 'How could this man be so intimidating? Well Vaughn, he is known for the most transfer requests in CIA history, he never has any emotion, except when you see him yelling at agents, and he never smiles. Is that enough reason for you great fear? Of course it is Vaughn! It's okay, he's complimenting you, it's bound to be a sign. Okay, Vaughn, you should be listening, shut up!'  
  
"Agent Vaughn, Agent Vaughn.."  
  
"Oh, um yes?" Vaughn looked up to find a not so patient man glaring at him.  
  
"If you would be so kind is to give me your attention for several more minutes, I would appreciate it."  
  
"Oh.. um...I'm so sorry sir, I just-" Vaughn stuttered.  
  
"Don't explain, just listen," said Jack impatiently.  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"In the report, it says she tried to escape. Tell me about that."  
  
"Yes, she was being questioned. By Agent Watson, as I recall. Apparently she thought it was the right time to escape. He quickly took down the two guards including Agent Watson. He jumped through the two-sided mirror where I was watching. I held her at gunpoint and she held me. I then kept her occupied for several moments until other agents came to take her. In the end she came willingly."  
  
"How did you get her to that?"  
  
"I told her that there was no way out. Inevitably she would get caught, either inside the building or out. The consequence was a much smaller cell in the middle of a remote island on the Pacific. After that, she gave in and she let me talk to her."  
  
"You do know that she's gotten out of worst?"  
  
"Oh yes, I know. But she didn't know that, she thought that we had hundreds of agents."  
  
"Smart thinking Agent Vaughn. I'm now assured that you will do anything in your power to secure my daughter. However, there's another matter I want to talk to you about," Jack said closing Sydney's folder. 'Oh jeez, I can't get transferred now can I? He likes me, he thinks I'm good for the job, I'm safe!!'  
  
"I don't want my daughter hurt either," Jack said quietly. He turned his head down studying for his shoes for a moment before continuing, "I don't know what to expect. I don't know whether to start anew, to trust her, or scorn forever for something she never intended to do. Although I know I don't show much emotion to people around this office, or to people in general, I've always been unable to control my emotions when it comes to my daughter. I need you to take care of her; I need you to make sure that she doesn't get hurt. I don't care whether the danger comes from her mother, the Alliance, Sark, or even the CIA."  
  
"I understand sir." Never did Vaughn think that the absence of his daughter would affect Jack Bristow in such a manner. Now that he thought of it however, it was probably the cause of his constant cold lifeless expression. First his wife left him, and then his only daughter was taken away. Almost twenty years of loneliness could do that to a guy.  
  
"I'm going to see her later. I have a debriefing in fifteen minutes. I'll talk to you if I think of anything else."  
  
"Yes sir." Vaughn turned to leave. 'Well, I survived that."  
  
"Oh Agent Vaughn," said Jack. Vaughn turned around to see Jack sitting at his desk. "Don't get used to the compliments. If I see you mess up, I'll take you off the case immediately." Without a further word he turned back to his work. 'Great.' Vaughn thought loosening his tie. He went back to his desk and fell into his chair.  
  
"You did good man, I think I would have broken down after he said Agent Vaughn the first time." Weiss sat on his friend's desk cheerfully eating a donut.  
  
"Yeah, well I received a lot of support from you," Vaughn said sarcastically. "You were out of here faster than bolt of lightning." Vaughn looked through a couple of manila folders and typed something into his computer.  
  
"He wasn't looking for me!"  
  
"Anyways, shouldn't you be doing you work instead of free loading off of the senior agents' donuts?"  
  
Weiss stopped, looked at his donut and at the coffee table across the room. There he saw Kendall and several other men picking form the table. "Are you serious? Senior agents only? Shit!" He quickly stuffed the whole thing in his mouth and tried eating it as unsuspicious as he could. Vaughn couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"I'm just kidding! You should have seen your face," Vaughn managed through his laughter. Weiss gave him a small punch.  
  
"You're not funny." Weiss muffled. He paused for a second, swallowing the rest of the donut before continuing, "I could have choked, where would you be now if I choked and died. You'd be attacked by mobs the next day. Picture the headlines: LOSER CIA AGENT KILLS NATION'S GREATEST SUPER SPY."  
  
"That would be a great headline, but where would your headline be?" That caused another push, but this time it was more of a shove. Vaughn almost fell over laughing.  
  
"I'm going to do my work, I would too if I were you," Weiss said walking away. Vaughn soon clamed himself and went back to work. He came upon Sydney's folder and thought what her father would be talking to her about.  
  
----------------------------  
  
Jack turned the corner flashing his identification card. There was a loud ring and slowly the metal gates rose. The debriefing had been slow, boring and ever long. It was exceptionally late, but he thought that he should see her as soon as possible. He walked through finding his daughter sitting on her bed with a book in her hands. Once she heard his foot steps look from her book. For a few moments they stared at each other in silence.  
  
"I've always wondered, if I'd be able to recognize you after all this time. Almost twenty years and almost nothing's changed. You hair, it's gray now, but other than that, nothing. Still the same cold expression, empty yet full of hatred. I'm not sure where'd I be if mom didn't come back." Sydney's words were cold and sharp, wounding him deeply. The disappearance of his wife had taken him into hell. And in his hell he ignored his daughter. For two years she had full-time nannies while he was away in foreign countries fighting for his own country. He didn't blame her for hating him so, but there was nothing he could do. Every time he saw her she reminded him of the woman that stole his heart and ran away with it.  
  
"Sydney, I know I didn't give the most attention after your mother left. You don't know how much I regret it, but I had a job."  
  
"Bull shit!" Sydney closed her book and walked up to her father glaring into his eyes. "You couldn't stand me! I was just an obligation for you, just like protocol, something you had to do, even if you didn't enjoy it. You don't know glad I was when mom came back for me. I'm sure you were very happy too. Every time you saw me you saw your weakness. I could see it in your eyes. You couldn't stand that I was HER daughter. You-"  
  
"You are also my daughter!!!" Jack's voice thundered above Sydney's "I can't believe you turned out to be so stubborn! Just like your mother and I, so blinded by your own views, you don't give anyone else a chance to say anything!"  
  
"After what you did to me, you shouldn't be allowed. I was six years old DAD! I didn't even reach the second grade before you turned me into a spy."  
  
"Project Christmas was a way for you to protect yourself. Just in case anything happened to your mother and I, I wanted you to be able to survive. I was only thinking of you!"  
  
"Then when were you going to tell me? Did I really have to find out from mom? Couldn't you have told me? Or did protocol say that you couldn't tell your own daughter. You probably forgot me after mom took me."  
  
"I searched for you for three whole years before I even stopped. Sydney, I was a wreck. I know, I can't excuse the way I treated you, but I had just lost my wife. Your mother was my life, aside from you. There are so many things I want to say.." He signs tiredly and covers his face with his hand. "But there will be time for that later. Sydney, I've come to warn you. If you try anything, ANYTHING that even looks remotely suspicious, I'll have you moved. Although you're my daughter I will not let my guard down. I understand that being in atmosphere for two decades your judgment can be- clouded."  
  
"What are you saying?" Sydney asked wonderingly. Here was man, who just a second ago seemed like a sentimental, loving father, now turned into an cold, monotone CIA agent. Similar to what he was like just after her mother left. She wouldn't believe him. She wouldn't fall into his lies again.  
  
"I'm giving you a chance to change, to forget Rambaldi, for get you mother's organization and live a normal life free of conspiracy, violence, and lies." He wanted so much to believe that she was good. Not capable hurting a human sole, but he knew that there was nothing further from the truth. She could hurt, and she could be hurt. It was his entire fault, hopefully her capture would mean that he would finally be about to right his wrong.  
  
"I don't believe you. I'm never going to get out of here, when they've done with I'm going to sit and rot in a ten by eight cell. Mom's doing to get me out, I know it. If she doesn't, Sark will. You're not so powerful as you think, being such a big CIA agent. All you do is follow protocol, well you know what screw protocol." Sydney folded her arms and turn away from her father.  
  
"If you cooperate, you could be out of this cell in less than a year."  
  
"Where would I go? To a small cell?"  
  
"No, to a house, perhaps in LA. You could go to college, or take a job. There would be surveillance at first, but if you're good, the CIA will forget about you. You could start over, normal, no strings attached. I want you to think about it, and I also want you to know that I'm here if you ever need to talk."  
  
"How do I know you're telling the truth?"  
  
"I guess we'll just have to learn to trust each other." All of a sudden a loud ring came and slowly the metal gate rose once again. Jack left without another word. Sydney sat stared distantly for a few moments lost in thought. She then absently picked up her book and sat on her bed. She stared reading then stopped. She dropped her book and ran over to the glass.  
  
"Hey, hey!" she called. The guard lifted the gate and walked over to her.  
  
"What do you want Miss Bristow?" the guard asked obviously irritated.  
  
"I want to talk Agent Vaughn, it's urgent." 


End file.
